Media Contact: Georgia Seltzer, (202) 822-8200 x104, gseltzer@vpc.org

Campaign Research Notes – December 11, 2025

Trouble in Pro-Gun Paradise, Part I: Gun Owners of America (GOA) accuses “Trump’s DOJ” of betrayal

While the gun lobby and firearms industry (especially silencer manufacturers) didn’t get everything they wanted in this past summer’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the measure did end the $200 tax applied to both the purchaser and the manufacturer of silencers, short-barreled rifles, and many other products regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).

However, the ultimate gun lobby/firearms industry goal remains total repeal of the NFA, including restrictions on silencers. This would allow for the creation of a whole new class of firearm — guns with integral silencers that could be purchased under federal law as easily as a standard hunting rifle — to try and resell the current gun market while targeting potential first-time buyers.

One of the more consistent voices pushing for repeal of the NFA has been Gun Owners of America (GOA), normally an ally of the Trump Administration. On the same day the bill was signed into law, GOA and an assortment of fellow travelers filed suit against the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and others, including Attorney General Pam Bondi (ATF is part of the Department of Justice) to overturn the remaining components of the National Firearms Act. The suit stated:

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Congress and the President enacted on July 4, 2025, zeroes the manufacture and transfer tax on nearly all NFA-regulated firearms. That means the constitutional foundation on which the NFA rested has dissolved.

In its response on November 20, the government essentially replied, “Nuh uh, we don’t think so,” stating in the opening paragraph of its reply:

The National Firearms Act (‘NFA’) has long regulated certain classes of weapons that Congress deemed particularly dangerous through taxation and other means, like registration requirements. But the question in this case is not about whether the NFA’s requirements are good policy — a very reasonable question on which the government has no occasion to opine in this brief. The only questions in this case are whether Congress has exceeded its enumerated powers or violated a fundamental right in making those policy choices. It did not.

Not surprisingly, GOA was quick to attack Bondi and “President Trump’s Department of Justice” in a press release issued the following day, stating:

GOA and GOF [GOA’s 501(c)(3) foundation] condemn Attorney General Pam Bondi and President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) for doubling down on enforcement of an archaic and unconstitutional law while simultaneously offering legal theories that would expand federal power to historic levels. This is especially striking from an administration that had promised to respect the Second Amendment and review burdensome agency rules.

And in an alert three days later urging its supporters to call the White House, the group added:

In a stunning, ultimate betrayal of the Second Amendment, the Department of Justice responded to GOA’s One, Big, Beautiful lawsuit with a new attack on gun owners. The Trump administration is now actively DEFENDING the archaic National Firearms Act of 1934 using legal arguments straight out of the FDR playbook.

While GOA has consistently criticized AG Bondi for not being true-believery enough, the group hasn’t yet warned of an anti-gun “cancer growing on the presidency” — although things are getting a little chippy out there.

Trouble in Pro-Gun Paradise, Part II: It’s not all hearts and flowers for the new nominee to head ATF

On November 18, President Donald Trump quietly nominated Robert Cekada to lead the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The nomination was submitted to the Senate, but no announcement was made by the Justice Department or White House.

Media coverage characterized the nomination as a non-controversial choice — the Washington Post described Cekada as “highly respected within ATF” and noted that as the current deputy director of the agency he has “essentially led day-today operations” under acting head Dan Discroll.

Reaction from around the gun lobby and firearms industry, as helpfully gathered by The Reload, has been mixed. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade group representing the firearms industry, released a statement that it was “encouraged by President Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert Cekada” and that “NSSF respects the experience, wisdom and confidence of Cekada’s colleagues to effectively lead the ATF.”

The American Suppressor Association (ASA) also endorsed Cekada, stating, “If confirmed, he would be the first ever truly pro-Second Amendment nominee to head the agency.” According to its website, the group works to “fight for pro-suppressor reform nationwide.” Support for ASA’s “singular mission” comes from silencer manufacturers and other industry members. As the group explains, “Corporate sponsorship is the backbone of the American Suppressor Association. Without it, we would not exist.”

While Alan Gottlieb’s Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) issued a press release “welcoming” the nomination, other pro-gun groups were less excited about “the first ever truly pro-Second Amendment nominee.” The National Rifle Association (NRA) announced the news, but offered little more. Similarly, the National Association for Gun Rights promised, “We’re already digging into his record. Gun owners deserve to know exactly where he stands on the Second Amendment.” And the nothing if not consistent Gun Owners of America (GOA), which has long advocated to abolish ATF, posted, “Let’s just abolish the ATF already. Then we won’t have to care who’s running it…🙄.”

No date has been set as of writing for a hearing on Cekada’s nomination in the Senate.

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The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.